Ten candidates vying for the Democratic presidential nomination stood onstage in Houston on Thursday night and debated the finer points of their health care proposals, discussed their immigration policies and talked about their professional setbacks.

Andrew Yang announced that he would pay 10 families a “freedom dividend” of $1,000 a month for a year — although it’s unclear if that’s legal.

Senator Kamala Harris, who made an impact by taking on Joe Biden on race relations in the first round of debates, instead set her sights on President Trump in her opening remarks on Thursday.

“You have used hate, intimidation, fear and over 12,000 lies as a way to distract from your failed policies,” she said. “What you don’t get is that the American people are so much better than this.”

Ms. Harris also largely dodged a question about her record as a prosecutor, saying that there had been “many distortions.”

But what she did say, according to The Times’s fact checkers — that she created a first-in-the-nation job training program for people with drug convictions and that she created one of the nation’s first body camera requirements for a statewide law enforcement agency — was mostly true.

The reason, Mr. Wallsten said, is most likely because it’s just too hard to come up with an applause line that might appeal to Californians as a single group.

“We’re so big and diverse,” he said. “There’s no ethanol issue, where you can cater to farmers.”

But he said California is a site of progressive experimentation. Its policies — and problems — are often held up by Democrats, who have a single-party grip on the Golden State, as a way forward. Just this week, legislators approved a landmark worker protection measure and a statewide rent cap.

And yet, Mr. Wallsten noted, California didn’t come up as a model or a cautionary tale on Thursday. Candidates didn’t talk much about housing costs. That Ms. Harris’s career has taken place in California, Mr. Wallsten said, felt almost incidental.

By contrast, a Texas Monthly editor wrote for The Times’s opinion pages, Thursday was a big night for the Lone Star State, which, she argued, is finally being embraced by Democrats.

Here’s what else we’re following

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F.B.I. agents on Sunday in Santa Barbara, Calif., outside the office of Truth Aquatics, the company that owned the Conception.CreditChristian Monterrosa/Associated Press

A federal report released on Thursday said that all six crew members aboard the Conception were asleep when a fire that killed 34 people broke out. There was supposed to be at least one person keeping watch. [The New York Times]

Also: Here’s what divers say it was like aboard the scuba diving boat. [The New York Times]

In the final flurry of activity at the Capitol, lawmakers approved a ban on private prisons operating in the state. The move is also likely to result in the shutting down of four large immigration detention facilities. [The Guardian]

Here’s a run-down of the most interesting bills that have made it to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk so far. [CalMatters]

After Uber said it wouldn’t reclassify its drivers as employees despite a newly passed bill that was supposed to require just that, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of drivers. [The New York Times]

Also: Take a look at where the measure fits in with the history of California’s labor relations. [New York Times Opinion]

A highly critical new report found that Cal Fire could have prevented injuries and damage from the Mendocino Complex Fire, the state’s largest blaze ever, if it had let wild lands burn for longer before trying to fight the flames. It’s part of a sea change in firefighting approaches. [The Press Democrat]

Climate change-driven wildfires have made giant sequoias some of their latest victims. The towering, fire-resistant trees have survived for centuries. “It’s alarming.” [The San Francisco Chronicle]

If you missed it, here’s how journalism students at U.S.C. took on a powerful institution plagued with scandal: Their own school. [The New York Times]

Forever 21, a fast-fashion empire that grew from a store started by a Korean immigrant couple in Highland Park, is reportedly near a bankruptcy filing. [The New York Times]

For the weekend

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Houses in the St. Mary's Park neighborhood of San Francisco in 2011.CreditRamin Rahimian for The Bay Citizen

If you missed it, here’s why there are so many palm trees in the Bay Area. [KQED]

Oakland’s Tacos Oscar, Verjus in San Francisco, as well as Konbi and Porridge + Puffs in Los Angeles get shout-outs on Bon Appétit’s list of 50 best new restaurants. [Bon Appétit]

Don’t get left behind: Sheet masks, oils and serums aren’t just for your face anymore. (They make them for your butt — that’s the joke.) [The New York Times]

And Finally …

It may still be hot outside, but you may have, at odd moments, noticed a crispness in the air. That means, that — although it’s never a bad time for curry — it’s soon to be a very good time for curry. Getting prepared for that eventuality is Tejal Rao’s weekend recommendation:

Almost everyone I know turns to industrially produced curry bricks to make Japanese curries at home — they’re cheap, they’re consistent and they’re easy to use.

But in an effort to avoid palm oil and preservatives, and to use high-quality spices, Sonoko Sakai makes her own from scratch. Sakai is a cookbook author and cooking teacher, and she recently showed me her process at a workshop in her Highland Park home.

To make the bricks, Sakai toasts whole spices, grinds them into a powder, then stirs the mixture into a lightly browned roux.

The bricks are concentrated with cumin, cardamom, fennel, chile and so much more, and rich with umami from kombu and shiitake.

Simmer the bricks into water, or stock, and the results are fresh and deeply layered. I highly recommend making a batch over the weekend, so you can put together a delicious Japanese curry on the fly anytime.

Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, graduated from U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter, @jillcowan.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.

Jill Cowan is the California Today correspondent, keeping tabs on the most important things happening in her home state every day. @jillcowan